Laurel University

Laurel University
Former names
 Greensboro Bible and Training School, Greensboro Bible and Literary Institute, People's Bible School, John Wesley College
Motto Learn. Grow. Impact.
Type Christian, Private
Established 1903 (1903)
Location High Point, North Carolina, United States
Campus Rural
Website www.laureluniversity.edu

Laurel University is an accredited, private interdenominational Christian college that delivers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs in on-campus, online, and in blended environments.[1]

Laurel University is located in High Point, North Carolina, just 15 miles south of Greensboro in the central Piedmont Triad area. The university offers a rural campus and stresses the importance of traditional family values, Judeo-Christian ethics, and biblical morality.[2]

Background

Known for many years as John Wesley College, the college changed its name to Laurel University in 2011.[3]

Some students live on the rural campus, while others commute. Some take classes online, and others study in face-to-face classes and small cohorts. Some students study locally in the Triad area of North Carolina; others study in the Dominican Republic or Haiti.[4]

The university contains schools of management and ministry and created North Carolina's first state-accredited online MBA program using avatar technology with a virtual business internship experiences for students.

History

Laurel University is the oldest undergraduate theological education institution in North Carolina.

Greensboro Bible and Training School started in Greensboro in the fall of 1903, as a result of an area revival held by Rev. Seth Rees and Rev. Charles Weigle. The school closed abruptly after spring semester in 1931 due to insurmountable financial difficulties.[5]

Following an all-night prayer service with well-known former Methodist Episcopal Church South evangelist Jim H. Green (1880-1955), the group decided to reopen the Greensboro Bible and Literary Institute on January 15, 1932, in the same facilities with many of the same teachers and students. This time, it was called People’s Bible School.

The revamped school, which started with four faculty (from the previous institute) and 18 students, later became known as John Wesley College (1956) and Laurel University (2011). This college distributed the People's Herald periodical, later titled The Crusader. The college remained non-denominational while promoting a distinctively Wesleyan-Holiness view on entire sanctification, with fellow Methodist Evangelist John R. Church as its first board chairman.[6][7]

The college was influential in the founding of the People's Methodist Church, which later merged with the Evangelical Methodist Church. The small "chain of tabernacles" was created so ministry students would have inexpensive venues to preach and conduct revival services during the Great Depression.[8]

Accreditation

Laurel University is accredited with the Commission on Accreditation of The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and the United States Department of Education. Graduates of Laurel University’s program in Christian Elementary Education are eligible for certification with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).

The Bachelor of Arts in Management & Business Ethics and the Master of Business Administration—two degrees offered by the School of Management—are licensed by the University of North Carolina Office of General Administration.

Academics

Laurel University offers multiple degree programs. The following are the majors offered:[2][9]

UNDERGRADUATE

Associate of Arts in:

  • Ministry

Bachelor of Arts in:

  • Bible/Theology
  • Christian Ministry
  • Christian Elementary Education
  • Intercultural Studies & Global Missions
  • Management & Business Ethics
  • Pastoral Ministry
  • Worship Arts

GRADUATE

  • Master of Business Administration (Management, Human Resources, Non-Profit Leadership)
  • Master of Theological Studies
  • Master of Christian School Education
  • Master of Ministry in Christian Leadership

DOCTORAL

  • Doctor of Ministry in Christian Leadership

Adult Degree Completion Program

Adults between 25 and 75 can complete a bachelor's degree at home or one night a week at school. Laurel University has online and blended, same-group degree completion programs in the following majors:

  • Management & Business Ethics
  • Pastoral Ministry
  • Christian Counseling
  • Christian Ministry

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2011/06/21/laurel-signs-articulation-deal-with-gtcc.html Laurel University Signs Articulation Agreement
  2. 1 2 http://www.laureluniversity.edu
  3. ↑ , John Wesley College changes name to Laurel University
  4. ↑ http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-laurel-university-110112,0,6526185.story Laurel University story
  5. ↑ http://laureluniversity.edu/about-us
  6. ↑ http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/NorthCarolinaCC.htm
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100527085335/http://www.johnwesley.edu/site/templates/jwc.aspx?articleid=155&zoneid=82
  8. ↑ Green, Jim H., "Green Spots," 1945, publisher unknown, pg. 94
  9. ↑ http://www.hpe.com/view/full_story/11037525/article-OUR-VIEW--High-Point-becomes-University-City High Point becomes university city

External links

Coordinates: 35°59′39″N 79°59′54″W / 35.9943°N 79.9984°W / 35.9943; -79.9984

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